For subscription businesses, the choice between Stripe and PayPal comes down to fees, reliability, and feature depth. Here's the full comparison.
Fee comparison for monthly subscriptions
Both processors charge their standard transaction fee on every renewal:
| Processor | Monthly $49 plan | Annual $490 plan |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe | $1.72/renewal | $14.51 once |
| PayPal Standard | $1.96/renewal | $15.11 once |
On a $49/month plan, Stripe saves $2.88/year per subscriber vs PayPal Standard. At 1,000 subscribers that's $2,880/year just from the rate difference.
Subscription features: Stripe wins
Stripe Billing is purpose-built for SaaS: proration, metered billing, trial periods, pause subscriptions, and dunning (automatic retry on failed payments). PayPal's subscription APIs are functional but lack the same depth and reliability.
PayPal's chargeback rate for digital subscriptions is also higher than Stripe's — a critical factor because too many chargebacks can freeze your account.
Use our comparison calculator
Enter your monthly plan price in the Payment Fee Comparison to see the exact monthly savings of switching between processors for your subscription amount.